Date Published: 15/12/2020
ARCHIVED - Balearic Islands paying PCR test cost so residents can return home for Christmas
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
Rising incidence rates mean stricter curfews and limits on bars and restaurants in the Balearics
For the last month the national and regional governments in Spain have been under great pressure to introduce relaxations on the pandemic restrictions in order to allow people to celebrate Christmas with their families, but in the Balearics the regional government has responded to the recent sharp increase in the incidence rate of Covid-19 by announcing that Mallorca will be on Level 4 alert until at least 28th December.
At the same time, the slowing of the downward curve in Covid infections could yet lead other regional governments to follow suit in the days leading up to the festive season.
The latest figures show a 14-day accumulated incidence rate in the Balearics of 280 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest in any of the 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain, after the rate rose by 17.6 per cent during the weekend. The regional government’s decision to place Mallorca on Level 4 alert comes after detailed analysis of the figures, while Menorca moves up to Level 3 at least until the next review of the situation on the Monday after Christmas.
As a result, the night-time curfew in Mallorca will be fixed at 22.00 with no concession to “special” days such as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and during the same period customers will not be allowed to sit inside bars and restaurants. Up to 75 per cent of the seating on outside terraces may be occupied, but hostelries are obliged to close at 18.00 at weekends and on the days before official holidays.
Smoking is permitted in the open air, but not on bar and restaurant terraces.
On the other hand, food may be delivered to homes until midnight and takeaway meals can be collected, but the restaurants where it is prepared must operate with their doors closed, the only exceptions being those in hotels where meals may be served to guests.
In addition, stricter enforcement strategies are to be adopted to ensure that capacity is not exceeded in shops and malls and restrictions are re-introduced on group sporting activities.
Negative PCR tests required for visitors from the rest of Spain
In the Balearics, as in the rest of the world, there are fervent hopes that the pandemic will ease in the new year when vaccines are made widely available, but in the meantime the regional government is doing all it can to encourage those arriving in the islands, both visitors and residents returning home, to undergo PCR tests. Negative tests in the 72 hours before arrival will be mandatory from 20th December for visitors coming from other parts of Spain (as they already are for people flying in from abroad), while for those arriving on trips unrelated to tourism the rules are somewhat less strict.
Residents returning home to the Balearics will be reimbursed for the cost of a PCR test performed in mainland Spain, but this is reported to have led to very high demand and long waiting times at the authorized testing centres in Catalunya and some other regions.